Behind Emerald Eyes
by Beautiful Deceit
Summary: Their glistening eyes locked from across the room as she slowly began her descent down the marble, spiraling staircase. Crystalline blue met captivating emerald as he continued to capture her attention. It had been five years since she had ran.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls or any of the characters, or Chad Michael Murray. However I do own the girl in this first chapter, but I refuse to give her name away in this disclaimer.

Information, which should be known before reading this: The ages of the two main characters are twenty-two. Luke and Lorelai are together and so are Rory and Logan. Everything in the show has happened, however, I will probably not touch on that since the other Gilmore Girls characters are mainly supporting characters in this story, though I will tell you that Logan and his friends will have a large role as well as Emily Gilmore. Yup, Emily will have a large role in this story. So without further ado, here it is.

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Their glistening eyes locked from across the room as she slowly began her descent down the marble, spiraling staircase. Crystalline blue met captivating emerald as he continued to capture her attention. It had been five years since she had ran from the safety of his arms, five years since he had felt her warmth surround him.

'_Five fucking years.' _ He thought as his steely eyes longingly trailed down her long, tanned, slender legs, which were barely hidden by the tantalizing dress, which barely covered her body. The beauty in question stood at about five feet, seven inches. She wore a black, fitting off the shoulder dress, which hugged each curve of her hourglass figure and stopped six inches above her tanned knees. On her feet she wore delicately beaded, black heels. She managed to look elegant, a feat which no other woman who dared to wear a dress like that to one of these society parties, could ever hope to achieve. But then again, she always managed to look perfect, beyond perfect. He could not think of any words that could do her beauty justice. She had been his everything and he swore he would never let her go.

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Her breath caught in her throat as she watched the elegant, blonde young man casually leaning against the door frame and though afterwards she would scold herself, the ravishing young woman could not help but feel a pang of happiness and hope at the absence of his date and the clinging bimbos of high society. Her long, straight, silky black hair flowed around her and side-swept bangs hooded her bright emerald eyes. Every eye in the room was on her as she reached the bottom of the spiral stairway. Men looked to long and the women gaped at the astonishing presence, that still after all this time, which they could not become accustomed to. She put up her pointed, dainty nose, which held a tiny diamond stud to match the jewels, which elegantly dripped from the rest of her curvaceous body.

'_Five fucking years and there he is.' _

As she stared into the steely blue eyes of the young man, she discovered the hurt, love and anger, which he often masked. Children of high society never showed emotion. If there was one thing her father had taught her, that was it.

'_What a job Daddy's done on me.' _She thought with bitterness.

As she continued to stare at the young man she loved she wondered what had happened to them, but she had known.

_Flashback _

She continued to arch her back against the library wall as he thrust in and out of her, whispering incoherently. One of his hands continuously twisted her hardened nipple and she moaned his name as his other hand snaked to graze her clit. With that one sharp touch, their quick lovemaking ended as he came, crashing his lips against hers. Slowly she detached her legs from around his waist and stood against him, staring into his clouded blue eyes. They were lost in each other and for a moment they were perfect.

"I love you," she whispered, sincerity evident in her tone and pure adoration shining in her emerald eyes. He had never let his guard down in front of anyone but her. She knew that he loved her, but as she made this confession and uttered these words, which she had never said to anyone else, she saw him freeze and wondered if her blissful admission was a mistake.

He knew that this was big for her and he also knew that it had taken a lot for her to dare to utter those words aloud. He never wanted to hurt her for the world, but knowing that these words meant so much to her, he felt that he could not say them back until he was sure he would not screw this relationship up.

"I. . . I don't know what to say," he chuckled softly, "I'm flattered."

'_How could he be so cold? I know he loves me and he knows how hard that was for me to say. Why is he making this into a big joke?' _she wondered, as tears began to form behind her eyes.

As he went to kiss her she moved away from him and began to get dressed, his eyes boring a hole into her back.

"Look, Baby, you know how I feel about you, but I'm not sure I can say that I love you yet." They had been together for years and he knew that this would kill her, but he wanted to protect her. He thought that she would understand, maybe not right away, but eventually. He was right. She did not understand.

Her shoulders slumped and she walked out of the DuGray's library, into the party, which had continued during their heated lovemaking.

"Goodbye Tristan," she whispered as she closed the French doors.

With those words he had watched his first and only love walk out of his life for five years.

_End Flashback_

She was pulled out of her reverie when a strong arm was placed upon her shoulders. She could feel the surrounding guests staring at her and her ex-boyfriend. Ex-boyfriend. The word still held a bitterness in her mind and she had refused to date another man for five years.

"Can we talk?" He questioned, leading her into the library, where their relationship had ended five years previous.

"I suppose I don't really have a choice now, do I?" She coldly asked, though it came out as a statement more than a question.

"You always did."

"Talk. Sure, let's talk. I can't wait to hear what you could possibly say to me after five years."

"Don't you dare fucking blame this on me Vic, don't you fucking dare," he growled, though his voice was somewhat calm and collected. He began again, "**You **walked out on me five years ago. **You **never looked back. So, therefore, **you **_don't _get to decide how this is done.

"I loved you Vic, damn it. I still love you. I never stopped."

She stood there, stunned at this confession.

He took her silence as a sign and crashed his lips upon hers. In that moment, Victoria Huntzberger was thrown back into the relationship, which had given her both grief and joy, but she didn't care. At that moment she was kissing Tristan, _her Tristan,_ and that was all that mattered.

_To be continued_

A/N: This is the prologue for this story; however, this will not focus on Tristan and Victoria getting together, but rather their lives before the split. There will be many flashbacks, which will explain why they are the way they are and why Victoria had such a hard time when he refused to tell her he loved her. Please Review and tell me if this is worth continuing.

xO. Beautiful Deceit


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Carter DuGray watched the elegant young woman follow his commanding, arrogant son into the family library with a knowing smirk. After five years nothing had changed and this was a fact, which though he would never admit, Carter was thankful for. It was true that he had disliked the youngest Huntzberger when his wife, Andréa, had mentioned that she was dating his son and they had gotten quite serious. Carter had been away on business in England, which meant that he had not laid eyes on Victoria Huntzberger since she was seven years old. He had come home rarely during those years and when he came home it was usually because Tristan was in trouble.

After sending Tristan to military school for two months, Carter had taken his son out of the hell hole, which they called a military institution and sent him to a boarding school in the South of France. He was sent to the same boarding school, which Victoria Huntzberger had been attending since she was sixteen years old. Though Carter had not seen the youngest Huntzberger since she was a sweet child, he had heard of her reputation. Victoria Huntzberger had been notoriously known as a wild child with a reputation that put her brother, Logan's reputation as a troublemaker to shame. To say that Carter was not pleased would be an understatement.

That is, he was not pleased until he had the pleasure of reacquainting himself with Victoria. Carter had heard of her great wit and charm. Her beauty was famous amongst the society set, but so were her wild exploits. It so happened that Carter had returned on business from England when Tristan was seventeen years old. DuGray senior, who was a good friend of Mitchum Huntzberger, had been invited to a dinner at the House of Huntzberger, which would ultimately lead to Carter's acceptance of his son's love for Victoria. What Carter did not anticipate, however, was that he, like the rest of his family, would become enchanted with the fiery, wild young woman. He remembered their first meeting after he returned from England extremely well.

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Five Years Ago. .

Carter and Andréa DuGray, along with their son, Tristan, arrived at the Huntzberger House in a timely manner for cocktails. Andréa DuGray surveyed her husband and inwardly hoped that he would be on his best behavior and treat his son's girlfriend with some respect. This was not only her son's girlfriend, but the daughter of dear family friends and Carter had been known to become mean when he had drunk more than his fair share of alcohol. Andréa, however, knew of Victoria's reputation for being blunt and knew that the young woman could probably stand her ground against Carter.

Tristan rang the doorbell and a scurrying could be heard from behind the door as a disheveled maid greeted the trio.

"Good evening sirs and madam. May I please take your coats?"

"That would be lovely Helga," Andréa politely responded, placing her coat into the shaking hands of the maid. Mrs. DuGray noticed Helga's unusually frightened demeanor.

"Dear, I don't mean to pry, but are you alright?"

"Yes, yes thank you," Helga responded, "Ms. Victoria is home and she and Mr. Huntzberger have turned the living room into a battlefield. It might be safer to steer clear of that room at the moment Madam."

As the three DuGrays wandered farther into the Huntzberger's mansion, they heard screaming and what seemed to be the end of an argument between three parties.

"Fuck you Dad!" Victoria Huntzberger screamed, "You don't understand one fucking thing about me or Logan."

"I understand you both better than you think Victoria. Neither of you care about your futures. You sully the family name and fuck around sinking boats and crashing Porsches," Mitchum screamed back.

"Shut up Dad. Who lets us crash the cars and sink the boats huh? Maybe if you ever tried being a father we wouldn't have to have this conversation every time one of us comes back to the house of hell," Logan added angrily, standing near his sister.

"You will not speak to me in that manner. You will follow my rules and if you don't like them well that's too damn bad because you don't have a choice. I'm your father and that demands some respect. Both of you need to step up and take responsibility for yourselves instead of trying to make me the bad guy. It's not my fault that you two are such fuckups."

Logan, face red in rage stormed out of the room leaving Victoria and Mitchum to continue the battle.

"Show you respect? Show you fucking respect? Hah, that's a good one Dad. Maybe we'd show you respect if you deserved it. What do you do that deserves respect Dad? Huh? I didn't know that treating your kids like shit and cheating on your wife with any secretary you can find that's ready and willing automatically put you in the running for father of the year. Times have changed, huh? If there's any reason that we're fucked up, that reason is you!"

"Me?" Mitchum asked incredulously. "I made you fuckups. I put money in your pockets. I allow you two to live comfortable and I made you fuckups. You better watch it young lady."

"Wow Dad that sure taught me my lesson. Don't act like you care. You've never cared. Honor's your golden child and Logan and I were the two mistakes that followed. Hell, you've hated me since I can remember. Where were you when I was growing up Dad? I'll fucking tell you. You were at work. Where were you when you promised to take me to those father-daughter dances Dad? Huh. Screwing your slut of a secretary at the time! You didn't even take me to get my fucking car when I turned sixteen—

"The car that you crashed the first day you got it? You may think you're perfect little girl, but let me tell you something you and your brother are just like me whether you like it or not. You may have your boyfriend, but we both know that if he doesn't get sick of you, you'll screw the relationship up somehow."

"No I won't," Victoria firmly stated, "I'm not you."

"You're more like me than you care to admit. Now if you'll excuse me," Mitchum said as he smirked at Victoria, "Our guests have arrived."

She wanted to scream.

The DuGrays watched the scene before them with open mouths. Carter was the first to speak as Mitchum approached the trio.

"Mitchum," Carter said, easily.

"Carter, Andréa, Tristan. It's great to see you all. Please excuse my daughter. She enjoys making scenes."

"Of course," Andréa said politely, though she was a bit shaken by the fight that she had witnessed.

"Why I haven't seen your daughter in about ten years, Mitchum." Carter turned to face Victoria, who stared at him impassively.

He thought to himself, '_She is pretty, I'll give her that much.'_

"It's nice to see you again young lady. I haven't seen you since you were what, seven years old? I've heard that you've been making quite the name for yourself."

"Have you now? Well it would seem that we have something in common. We both have poor reputations, which precede us."

"Meaning?"

"Simply meaning that I have a reputation for being a wild, party girl, which is what you choose to believe. I know for a fact that you are somewhat of an ass due to what I have heard about you and if I had not heard that you are, in fact, a presumptuous asshole, I would have made the assumption on my own tonight after listening to you address me in such a condescending and patronizing tone."

Victoria Huntzberger had no time for condescending businessmen and she abhorred playing the role of the perfect daughter. She was not scared of Carter DuGray like many other young women her age were. Victoria did not fear pompous, arrogant, business tycoons. She had spent her whole life being torn up by a full-fledged business tyrant and he was the only one who could tear her down.

Carter was shocked. No one had ever stood up to him quite like that, aside from his son and father. His wife did not even address him in such a manner. Though it should have infuriated Carter, he found it refreshing.

"I apologize for my rude daughter," Shira stated as she entered the eloquently decorated living room.

"Nonsense," laughed Carter, "I appreciate your lovely daughter's bluntness."

Shira's airy laugh filled the room.

"At least someone does," Mitchum deadpanned.

Shira sensed the tension between father and daughter and attempted to break it.

"Let us sit and have cocktails before dinner," Shira said.

Victoria continued to glare at both of her parents before meeting Tristan's eyes. She smirked and said, "Let the festivities begin."

A/N: Ok, well I hate to end it here, but that's how it is. A little insight into Victoria and Logan's relationship with Mitchum. Next chapter will contain more of the dinner and some important moments between Victoria and Tristan. Please Review.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N: Sorry for the lack of updates, I have been having a major writer's block, but I've managed to break through with this chapter. Hopefully updates will become more frequent, but I can't make any promises because I hate when people make promises that they just can't keep. Thank you so much for the reviews and I hope that you enjoy this chapter. It begins exactly where chapter two left off. Enjoy!

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The DuGrays and Huntzbergers were now seated at the large maple dinner table in the center of the Huntzbergers' spacious dining room. The marble sconces that hung from the deep red walls illuminated the faces of each dining room occupant.

Carter couldn't help but notice the sparkle in the emerald eyes that sat diagonally across from him as they gazed at his son with pure adoration. It was in that moment that Carter realized what Andréa had meant when she told him that Victoria was perfect.

Yes, she was wild. Sure, she was rash, reckless and irresponsible. She had a list of mistakes a mile long, but then again so did Tristan. To an outsider, a pair as bold as the two teenagers would appear to be a match made in hell. Carter, however, saw more. He had seen their chemistry throughout dinner and he had also seen Victoria's ability to put his cocky son in his place. Tristan had met his match.

"He was a man with needs. He wasn't getting' it from her, so where's the harm?"

Apparently Tristan had decided to join Andréa and Shira's conversation regarding John Lees affair with a Swedish maid.

"So because he's a man and can't keep it in his pants it's acceptable for him to cheat on his wife with Olga the Magdalene of Maids?" Victoria asked, incredulously, glaring at Tristan from across the dinner table.

"Like I said, Mrs. Lees sure wasn't putting out so why should John suffer for her mistake?"

"Maybe because he made a promise. He took a vow to be faithful to Lila until death. Lack of sex doesn't change marital vows Tristan."

"Yeah, but she took a vow to cherish her husband. I think a lack of sex shows that she's obviously not following her vows!" Tristan argued.

"You have the most warped view on marriage that I have ever seen in my entire life. You make Henry VIII look like Ward Cleaver. If this is your view on a relationship I have no idea how you expect to be happily married. So maybe you should think about that before you decide that you've found someone you want to spend the rest of your life with."

Though she knew that Tristan was trying to get a rise out of her, she couldn't help but feel agitated. She could not stand adultery. It had destroyed her family and brought her world crashing down upon her.

Tristan stared at his beautiful girlfriend from across the table. He had argued in Lees' defense to agitate her and he knew that she was aware of this. He hadn't, however, meant to close her off.

She was dangerously beautiful, with looks that would guarantee her anything, intelligence and wit beyond compare, and she was all his. This was the woman that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with. He just hadn't told her that yet.

Carter laughed quietly, amused at the antics of the young lovers. From his vantage point he could see that these passionate debates were a regular occurrence for them. Mitchum also appeared to be of the same opinion. Yes, they regularly cheated on their wives. Sure, they enjoyed late night interludes with their secretaries, but pure, unadulterated love was a pleasure that they had never experienced, yet it appeared that their children were in the midst of one of those magical affairs.

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(_Present)_

The crash of glass inside of the library brought Carter back from his reverie. Victoria and Tristan had disappeared into the room ten minutes ago and were obviously in the middle of passionate lovers' spat.

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The vase broke loudly against the rich, wine red wall of the DuGray family library.

Victoria was beyond frustrated and at this point who cared whether or not the vase was a prized family heirloom? Tristan sure as hell didn't, so why should she?

"No." she whispered.

Her voice became firmer. "No, no, no, no and NO!"

She backed away from him.

"I can't do this Tristan. I won't. Not again."

She sighed. "I can't believe in you, believe that you love me and then have you take that away. I won't do it again."

"Di, C'mon Di, just look at me."

She looked up because he had used his old nickname for her. _Di. Not_ Bink, like Logan and his friends all called her. (Her middle name was Binkley, her mother's maiden name.) He hadn't called her Vic, like he usually did when he was upset. He had called her the nickname that he had used at the best of times. (He called her Di, as in Diana, daughter of Zeus, and mythological goddess of chastity. This was because he found it highly amusing that Shira would ever have entertained the idea of christening Victoria with the name Chastity. Of course this was only amusing to Tristan because his Di was anything but chaste.)

"Remember the first time we met as adults?" He asked this so softly that if she had not been listening intently, she might have missed the fact that he spoke at all.

Of course she remembered. How could she have forgotten the meeting that had started it all?

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Shira had watched her lovely daughter follow Tristan into the library. She had seen Carter and Mitchum curiously glancing towards the door. She had also seen the looks that Victoria had received during her grand entrance. Many thoughts plagued Shira, but she could not seem to shake the nagging little voice in her head that told her that Victoria was headed for a disaster this evening.

'_Her hair will look like a bird's nest once those two have finished. Why couldn't she have just placed it in the elegant bun that the hairdresser recommended?' _

A/N: So that's it for now. So, Carter and Mitchum are curious and approving, Victoria and Tristan are hurt and anxious, and Shira, well Shira is superficial and clueless. Sorry, it was short, but this chapter is sort of filler. Next chapter is Tristan and Victoria's first meeting as adults. (When they reconnected at 16, prior to their relationship.) I promise that next chapter will make up for the lack of length of this one. Please review.

xO. Beautiful Deceit


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